My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 89 Let's drag everyone into this

After the interrogation, Li Chengqian returned to the Eastern Palace.

The assassins are easy to find, as they are hiding in Anyifang, Chang'an, which is next to the main gate of Chang'an City, Mingde Gate.

Yin Hongzhi won over the general guarding Mingde Gate, but he was not reassured and prepared his own assassins.

This was a preparation for the future when King Qi Li You rebelled and reached the city of Chang'an.

Yin Hongzhi really thinks very far ahead.

Now Li Chengqian gets the advantage.

These three hundred death warriors were all equipped with armor and weapons. Yin Hongzhi spent at least hundreds of thousands of dollars on them. They were trained every day and provided with delicious food.

If there really came a day when Prince Li You of Qi reached the city of Chang'an, he might be able to capture the city gate by surprise.

As for the roster, with thousands of names, it was impossible for Yin Hongzhi to remember all of them.

Instead, he hid the list in the mansion.

Li Chengqian just asked someone to go and get it.

As soon as he returned to the East Palace, Zhang Ananda came and said that the emperor had summoned him. It was obvious that he had been keeping an eye on the prince's movements.

Inside the Liangyi Hall.

Li Shimin sat upright on the chair.

Ever since the prince's wheelchair came out, Li Shimin thought it was very good and comfortable to sit on, so he asked craftsmen to make the same chair and replace the Hu bed in the Liangyi Hall.

"Father." Li Chengqian bowed while sitting on the four-wheeled carriage.

Li Shimin nodded slightly and his eyes fell on Li Chengqian.

"Prince, how is the trial of Yin Hongzhi going?"

Li Chengqian replied: "Yin Hongzhi has confessed the truth about his rebellion. He started planning since the beginning of the Zhenguan period, intending to seize the throne after his father's death and the transition of court succession."

"He also won over the general guarding the Mingde Gate, so that he could seize the gate when Qi Wang Li You rebelled and reached the city of Chang'an."

"In addition, many officials in the court also accepted benefits from Yin Hongzhi and secretly communicated with him."

After saying that, Li Chengqian took out a list, which listed the people who were related to Yin Hongzhi.

This list was refined by Li Chengqian, and basically all of them are related to the Wei Wang Party.

Naturally, he could not miss this good opportunity to weaken the power of the Prince of Wei's party.

As for the remaining part, it is the handle to control other officials.

Of course, he accepted the three hundred assassins and the intelligence network.

Zhang Ananda stepped forward to take it and handed it to His Majesty. After Li Shimin read the names on the list one by one, his face became gloomy.

"This thief is so bold that he has been planning for more than ten years."

After that, he asked again: "Is Concubine Yin involved?"

Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment and said, "There is currently no conclusive evidence that Concubine Yin was involved in the rebellion."

Li Shimin remained silent, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair, thinking about how to deal with the matter.

"Prince, how do you think we should deal with Concubine Yin?"

Li Chengqian was speechless. What does your woman have to do with me?

But after all, he accepted the benefit, so he still had to say a few nice words. He was not the kind of person who would accept gifts without doing anything.

After thinking for a while, he replied: "Although Concubine Yin is Yin Hongzhi's sister, she has lived in the deep palace for a long time and may not know about his rebellion."

"And for Yin Hongzhi, Concubine Yin did not benefit him in any way from the rebellion. On the contrary, colluding with her could easily lead to bad things. Therefore, he should only use Concubine Yin to gain money and power."

Li Shimin nodded slightly, agreeing with what the prince said.

Li Shimin continued to ask: "Then according to your opinion, how should this matter be handled?"

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "Father, I think we can keep Concubine Yin under house arrest in Deyun Palace for now, and make a decision after further investigation."

"As for those who colluded with Yin Hongzhi, they should be investigated one by one and punished according to the severity of their crimes."

"Those who accepted bribes can be severely punished to serve as a warning to others. Those who were merely deceived by Yin Hongzhi and did not actually participate in the rebellion can be given a lighter sentence to demonstrate the emperor's mercy and justice."

Li Shimin nodded slightly and said, "Your Highness, what you said is very good. I will leave this matter to you to continue to investigate. You must be fair and strict and not favor anyone."

Li Chengqian cupped his hands: "Yes, Father."

Li Shimin sighed inwardly. The prince had never let him down in handling state affairs and civil governance.

From the time he took over as regent at the age of thirteen, he had the bearing of a crown prince.

But the more this happened, the more fearful he felt.

The crown prince is the emperor's successor, but if the young crown prince is too outstanding, even better than his father, the emperor, a struggle for power is inevitable.

How will the ministers choose between the young and wise crown prince and the aging emperor?

Li Shimin had to consider these issues.

As for King Qingque of Wei, he is far inferior to the Crown Prince in every aspect.

Especially since he whipped the prince five times with a horse whip and the prince demonstrated his skills as an archer, the gap has widened.

This also made Li Shimin feel pressured.

So after the prince left, Li Shimin said to Zhang Anan: "I miss Qingque, let him come to the palace to accompany me."
-
The news of Yin Hongzhi's rebellion reached Wei Wang Li Tai.

He had known about the King of Qi's rebellion a long time ago, and it must have been related to Yin Hongzhi.

Although it was a secret trial by the crown prince and not open to the public, Yin Hongzhi's status was not low. He had a lot of say in the court in recent years. In addition, Concubine Yin was favored, and many nobles wanted to curry favor with him.

He was suddenly arrested and brought to the Dali Temple, where after some questioning it was discovered that he was charged with treason.

After hearing this, King Li Tai of Wei secretly made some plans in his mind.

He knew very well that if this matter was not handled properly, it would likely affect his plan to compete for the throne.

The first people Li Tai thought of were the nobles who were implicated with Yin Hongzhi.

Given my father's temperament, he would never engage in mass killings. These people must be in a panic at this time, worrying that they will be implicated.

You can take the opportunity to win over some people, promise them benefits, and make them come to your side.

As for some officials who might be involved in his own Wei Wang party, Li Tai didn't care much, as they were all traitors. Now he had to look for the vacant positions of the officials who were implicated and removed from office.

Li Tai said to Chai Lingwu, "The Crown Prince will certainly take this opportunity to expand his power. We can't just sit there and wait for death. Do you have any way to win over those nobles who are involved with Yin Hongzhi?"

The original advantage of the Wei Wang Party among the civil servants in the court was gradually being eroded by the Crown Prince, which made Li Tai feel uneasy.

Chai Lingwu thought for a moment and said, "Those noble officials must be very nervous right now. We can send people to secretly find out their needs and weaknesses, and then prescribe the right remedy by promising them official positions, wealth or other benefits."

"The King of Wei can also show tolerance and generosity, and let them know that as long as they surrender to the King of Wei, he will protect them."

Li Tai nodded slightly, and then asked: "What do you think about the vacant official position?"

Chai Lingwu replied: "Your Highness, we can select talented, loyal and reliable people from among the retainers and make preparations in advance. Once a vacancy appears, we will immediately arrange for our people to fill it."

Li Tai's eyes gleamed with a gleam of light, and he said, "Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. Be sure to act cautiously and not make the slightest mistake." Chai Lingwu bowed and said, "Don't worry, King Wei."

At this time, a eunuch came to the palace and His Majesty summoned him into the palace.
-
In Wubenfang, Fang Xuanling returned home after finishing his duty.

"Has there been any news from the Dali Temple?"

Fang Yizhi replied, "Sun Siqing sent someone to tell me that the Crown Prince is conducting a secret trial this time, and the details are not yet known. Your Majesty has ordered that the Crown Prince will be fully responsible for this case, and the Dali Temple is only there to assist and obey your orders."

After that, Fang Yizhi added: "By the way, not long ago, His Majesty sent someone to summon the King of Wei to the palace."

Fang Xuanling nodded, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Before the curfew, go to Sun Siqing's residence in person and ask him to ask Yin Hongzhi and Hegan Chengji what's going on tomorrow."

Fang Yizhi said in embarrassment: "I'm afraid Sun Siqing will not agree to your Majesty's decree this time."

Fang Xuanling said: "That's why I asked you to go in person."

Fang Yizhi realized: "Father and Sun Siqing."

Fang Xuanling sighed and said, "We had some interactions in the early years, I'm sure he still remembers it, just go and tell him."

Fang Xuanling said it lightly, but Fang Yizheng knew that this was definitely not a simple matter.

Because in the early years, Fang Yizheng was still young, and he only knew that his father had served as the military and political minister when His Majesty was the King of Qin, and that he had a wide network of contacts, but he didn't know how wide the network was.

Later, after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin became emperor, and these people under his command naturally also ascended to high positions.

However, Fang Xuanling had too much power, too many connections, and too many favors, which posed a subtle threat to the imperial power.

Therefore, after the court was stabilized in the early years, he began to keep a low profile.

When Li Yuan was emperor, Sun Fujia was highly appreciated and was appointed as Zhishu Shiyushi.

In the fifth year of Wude, Sun Fujia was dismissed from office for his memorial. At that time, the imperial examination system was not yet complete, so he took the Jinshi examination as a dismissed official, ranked first, and was appointed as a Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice.

It was during this period that Fang Xuanling won over Sun Fujia and joined Li Shimin's camp.

After that, Sun Fujia supported Li Shimin and served him wholeheartedly.

In the first year of Zhenguan, Sun Fujia was appointed as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.
In the fifth year of Zhenguan, he was dismissed from his official post due to mistakes in handling cases. It was again due to Fang Xuanling's memorial that Sun Fujia was reinstated by Li Shimin as a Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice.

It was not until the 14th year of Zhenguan that he was appointed as the Minister of Dali Temple.

This friendship can be said to be a rebirth.

Fang Yizhi was puzzled and asked, "Father asked Sun Siqing to ask Yin Hongzhi about Hegan Chengji's affairs. Is he suspicious of the crown prince?"

Fang Xuanling was not shy about talking about his eldest son.

"I heard about the rebellion of the King of Qi earlier, and I felt that there was something fishy about it."

"Over the years, the prince has been enjoying himself openly, but secretly practicing martial arts. His cunningness is shocking."

"I think he has already noticed your majesty's concerns, so he deliberately allowed the Wei Wang Party to grow stronger."

"After all, he was young and full of energy. After being whipped by His Majesty, he felt that the time had come and began to act."

"Now it seems that the prince may have known about Hegan's succession to the throne a long time ago, but all this is still within his calculations."

"The Crown Prince used the King of Qi's rebellion to cover up his own plan and secretly crossed Chencang to confuse Your Majesty."

There was some helplessness in Fang Xuanling's tone.

He did not want to get too deeply involved in the fight between the King of Wei and the Crown Prince, but the current situation was constantly forcing him to come up with ideas for the King of Wei.

It was mainly because His Majesty felt that the Crown Prince was too strong and hinted at him to strike back.

But as far as the current situation is concerned, Fang Xuanling actually feels that he has no way out.

If the prince ascends the throne, will he really not vent his anger on the Fang family?

Fang Xuanling felt that the possibility was not high.

So we really need to make an effort.

Fang Yizheng was a little shocked. Originally, he always thought that the prince was nothing special. In his impression, the prince was more absurd and fond of fun.

However, after hearing what my father said, I suddenly felt that the prince was unfathomable.

"Father, can we win this?"

"Once the prince ascends the throne, I'm afraid my Fang family will be in great trouble."

Fang Yizheng was really scared. The Fang family was very famous now, but in fact they only relied on Fang Xuanling, a big tree, to support them. They didn't have much foundation of their own.

Now that his father is old, he knows himself well and it is impossible for him to reach his father's level.

If the prince rebels at that time, who will be able to deal with it? It will be a disaster.

"Let's go and see. Do you think I want to get involved in this? But His Majesty has made some arrangements. Who can avoid it?"

"You are right. It is time to make plans early."

Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment and said, "The only solution now is to involve more people. Then the law will not punish everyone. Even if the prince takes the throne, he must consider the impact of the factional struggle, and perhaps we can avoid some of it."

"Even if there are difficulties, they won't be too difficult."

Fang Xuanling naturally thought of a countermeasure, but there was no perfect plan for such a matter.

Fang Yizhi hesitated and said, "The ministers in the court all avoid such matters and will not easily get involved."

Fang Xuanling said: "That's right, but there are some things that are beyond their control, just like what's happening to me now."

Fang Yizhi was worried, not knowing what consequences his father's plan would bring. But he also understood that under the current situation, they had no choice.
-
The Eastern Palace rear residence.

Di Zhixun looked at the collected evidence with a bitter expression.

Standing next to him was a teenager.

This is his son Di Renjie.

Di Zhixun had five sons, but he loved Di Renjie the most.

This was not favoritism, but Di Renjie was the most intelligent among all his sons. Therefore, no matter where Di Zhixun served as an official, he would keep Di Renjie by his side to broaden his horizons.

"Why are you so worried, father? Now that there has been a major breakthrough in the case, you should be happy."

Di Renjie asked with some confusion.

Di Zhixun sighed and said, "I should be happy, but this matter involves too many people. If I report it rashly, I'm afraid I'll be caught in a whirlpool."

"Even your grandfather would avoid such a big thing as the snake and scorpion, but if it goes wrong, disaster will come."

Although Di Renjie was young, he had some understanding of the court struggles after being exposed to them for a long time.

After thinking for a while, he said, "The people who killed Lu Sili were from the Cui family of Qinghe. Father doesn't want to offend them, but if he doesn't offend them, he will also offend the crown prince."

"Father is an official under the Crown Prince, and I receive his salary, so I should share his worries."

Upon hearing this, Di Zhixun did not blame Di Renjie, but patted him on the shoulder and said, "You are still young, and a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. However, the more you know, the more you will worry."

“In a fight like this, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up in pieces.

"I'm afraid for my father."

(End of this chapter)